15 legislators from Congress and Seemandhra minister resign

The Seema-Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh is seething. Two days after the announcement of statehood for Telangana, the public anger over the division of the state has forced the Congress leaders from the region to take action.

On Thursday, as the region witnessed widespread shutdowns, marches and two suicides, 15 Congress legislators and one minister resigned. But the bickering over which political party was to blame for the UPA decision made it clear that the hands of the local Congressmen had been forced.

In fact, in view of the deadline set by the protesters, a party leader said, “We are serious about our resignations”. But four other ministers, who were supposed to resign, merely went into yet another huddle with chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy.

The party attempted to keep up a united front, with S Sailajanath, convener of Seema-Andhra ministers, saying, “To renew our efforts to keep the state united, all the Seema-Andhra ministers and the Congress legislators have decided to resign”.

But the Congress leaders also vociferously blamed the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) for “their silence on separation, which lead to the UPA decision”.